Growth and Development

Will rural America gain population in the next Census? Part of that depends on how well rural people get counted. With billions of dollars and political representation on the line, rural places have a lot of reasons to prepare for the 2020…

Rural communities lack assets, not opportunities, say participants in a national forum. Groups like the Brookings Institution that argue for metropolitan-only investment strategies ignore the economic and social realities of contemporary…

Rural America isn’t alone in dealing with issues like economic inequality, outmigration, resource extraction, and Indigenous peoples’ rights. A biennial international conference this fall will bring together leaders from the U.S. and other…

Rural America’s population grew by 0.1 percent from 20017 to 2018. The growth was small and clustered near metropolitan areas. But it reverses the trend of population loss that occurred from 2011 to 2016.

As flood debris festers in the spring sunshine, Congress and the state of Missouri can’t make up their minds whether to help – or even if there is a disaster. Meanwhile, the only thing getting repaired are the railroads.

Timber management on federal lands can be justified for valid reasons — protecting watersheds, conserving wildlife habitat, promoting overall forest health —  but it rarely helps communities confront looming wildfire disasters. The best…

Rural areas still have less employment than they did before the recession. To make up the difference requires “smart” programs that build on rural assets.

Rural Day in Raleigh, North Carolina, brings together 450 people from 83 of the state’s 100 counties, organizers at the NC Rural Center say.

As the politicians frequently point out, the rural population has a greater percentage of veterans than the urban population does. But that’s not true for younger veterans.